Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-03-14
CATARRH,


consequences.
The most prominent and characteristic
feature is a morbid discharge from the
head. varying In its nature at diherent
In some there is an almost constant flow
of clear, acrid fluid, Dut oftener an offensive,
purulent or muco-purulent. greenish-yellow
matter is secreted, which accumulates III
the nostrils or drops into the throat. neces.
stating its trequenl removal by blowing tue
nose or expectoration, md often 10y both
processes. Sometimes patients feel as
though their whole head was in a state Of
rottenness, so great is the amount of matter
discharged and so fetid is its odor. The
patient is greatly annoyed by the constant
dropping into the throat of the morbid mat
ter from the head, and as recumbent posi-
tion naturally favors the flow downward,
his rest is frequently disturbed from this
cause. Many sufferers are obliged to lie
with the head very much elevated in order
to sleep with some degree of comfort:
In others tough, viscid and offensive
phlegm collects behind and above the soft
palate, in the passage between the throat
ish tenacity. Its lodgment embarrasses
respiration and creates a sens ,tion of irri
tation and uneasiness In the affected local
ity, which gives rise to constant ana al
most irresistible desire to relieve the dis
comfort by drawing the mucus into the
throat so as to eject it by the IN iuth. This
practice, popularity known as ''hawkihg,"
is characteristic of catarrh, and proves as
disagreeable to those around him.
Again, the offensive matter hardens and
deposits itself on the membrane in the
81 ape of dry, hard concretions, which are
discharged by way of the nostrtls or throat
in Jumps or fragments of deep green tint.
III some cases these incrustations accumu-
late to such an extent as to form a regular
plug in the nose, which obstructs breathing
ana produces serious discomfort. SO firm
ly do these iDcrustatiCns adhere to the
point of attachment tnat their removal
usually requires the most violent efforts:
not unfrequenly 7. ey have to be torn from
the mem brane Occasionally a solid cast
OF notable size is expelled, on which there
| are generally traces of blood. but Ill some
cases the cast presents tubular appear.
ance. being OF exact shape OF the nasal
ceration, which. in time, may destroy the
bony st, uctnre of the nose and produce
subsequent flattening of that organ.
Gases are occasionally met with in which
a thick, viscid, Shiny secretion coats the
mem brane of the nasal cavities and then
putrifies, giving rise to q stencil which is
really overpowering and sufficiently fetid to
poison the atmosphere of whole room;
| iions of the membrane are suspended, caus-
| ing an unpleasant feeling of dryness, heat
and feverishness in the head and nOse--a
condition popularity kuown as DRY Ca
| tarrh."
Ihe disease speedily extends to the air
cavities of the bones of the forehead and
face, giving rise to distressing scnsstioa
of h avy weight or compression over the
| forehead, especially in the region above
| end between the eyes, and to u feeling of
| fulness, heat, ion, soreness or pain in
the nostrils near the root of the nose, as
well as in the upper part of the throat,
above and behind the soft palate. Some-
| times there is pain obstinately fixed in some
particular part, as in the temple, on the top
Of the head, at the back OF the neck, or be-
hind the Orbids, and occasionally pain
| manifests itself IN the face of SO severe a
character that it is frequently mistaken for
neuralgia.
The breath is always tainted and at times
| assumes all exceeding fetid and sickening
odor. In some cases it becomes so revolt
| ingly offensive as to render the sufferer an
object OF disgust to himself as well as to
| others.
The nasal membrane is thickened and
| congested, causing the nose to be stopped
| up, sometimes on one side sometime on the
other, and often on both, giving rise to
oisagreeable. stuffy sensation in the head,
| ana Occasioning violent and prolonged
| parOxysms of eneezing.
The voice is weak. indistinct and husky
| or of nasal character di playing a sort of
shifting quality. Oftentimes there is con-
| tinuous hoarseness and discordance. There
| is also a sense of irritation in the throat,
and frequent attempts to clear the parts of
| phlegm, producing the sound hem" more
or less forcibly. In some cases patients
complain of an uncomfortable feeling of
| fullness or a choky ensatiOn in the throat,
| and in others of a Distressing aud almost
| constant dryness, for the temporary relief
| of which they have to swallow frequently.
Others, again, speak of a constant bad or
| nauseUUs taste in the mouth or throat
The stomach generally suffers more or
| less aud becomes weak and irritable; the
appetite is capricious and nearly always
guild, unable to perform mental or physical
| labor with the usual facility, is nervous, de
pressed in spirits, at times fearful. timid,
sleep, the memory weakened and perma
| nent impairment seriously threatened.
| The mucous membrane soon becomes
morbidly sensitive to unfavorable indu
ences. and in spite of the utmost care be-
comes affected from the slightest causes, so
that at last breath of wind upon the lining
of the no, Or throat becomes productive OF
a cold, and gives rise to serious disturb
patient is subject to frequent and repeated
colds. each attack aggcavating the disease
| by giving 1t new impulse and involving
! lager extent or surface than its predecessor
organ to organ. invading the throat, larnyx
trachea and bronchial tubes, until, en-
croachiDg further and further, 1t reaches
the fuer rami6cations Of the broucbi, when
but slight impulse is required to send II
to the lungs. Catarrh may, and often does.
affect other organs in the body, especially
| those containing mucous membrane, sucf
as the stomach, bowels. kidneys. etc.
By the employment of proper inhalation
| in the form of medicated vapor (not steam
| or spray we are able to produce immediat.
and direct action upon the diseased surface
| in the pharynx and nasal passages, for al
Will find Its way into the most remote and
intricate cavities, where it is atterly impos.
sible to make fluid applications. BY these
mears every case can be cured.
OZENA.
Ozena is the professional or technical
name given TO an advanced form of natorrh
in which liberation has eaten through the
membrane lining of the nose to the carti-
lage of the bone. Anv case OF catarrh may
end in eczema, but 1t most frequently occurs
in those " no are naturally scrofnlous. The
discharge takes place through the nOstrils
or through the throat. and Is generally of a
yellowish or greenish yellow color, fre-
Qnently tinged with blood and almost al
Hays attended by an offensive smell. In the
language of DR.. Wood, of Philadelphia,
The disease is one of the most obdurate
and dissgreeab!e which the physician has
to encounter. In bad cases the breath of the
patient becomes SO revolving as to isolate
him from society and to render him an OBJ
ject of disgust oven to himself" In some
slough of, leaving deep, unhealthy ulcers,
which secrete bloody matter, and are ex.
treme. y difficult to heal. After z9na has
continued some time tho sense OF smell
Deafness is one OF its most common couse.
quenc-s, and results from its extension
through the eustachian tubes to the internal
ear. Pains in the head and over the frontal
sinuses, impairiDg memory. and even in.
sanity frequently spring from its extension
to the brain. The greatest danger, how
ever. because the most common, is that IL
will extend downward and affect the lungs.
Ia most cases of pulmonary disease catarrh
is present in some degree, and in mapy in
stances it causes large share of the pa
TENTS discomfort.
Besides these grave consequences. all of
which are liable to sp'iug from scrofulous
catarrh or ozpna, there are others which, il
less DANGEROUS, are snffieiently unpleasant
1t occasions great unhappiness to Thousands
of both sexes, by isolating them and pre-
venting their settlement in life An often.
sive running from the nose, with foul
breath. is about as great calamity as can
befall young people .sfor no yo ng person
should ever think OF marrying while afIlict-
ed with catarrh.
ThOAa who visit anutharn Calffornia afAa.